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This paper discusses the conflictive relationship between corruption and the implementation of rigorous environmental policies. According to our initial hypothesis, the higher the degree of corruption, the more likely it is that governments defend individual interests rather than environmental goals established to benefit society. Using panel data of 34 OECD members from 1996 to 2020, we investigate the potential determinants of the updated Environmental Policy Stringency index. This is a contribution from previous analysis, since the sample is significantly extended, and the analysis disaggregates among the three dimensions of the index. The estimation of the fixed-effects model confirms our assumption: perceived corruption negatively affects the development of ambitious policies in the environmental field. Specifically, more corrupt cabinets apply laxer market-based instruments and fewer technology support policies. Our empirical outcomes also hint at significant connections between other political, institutional, social or economic factors and the strictness of environmental policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Environmental injustice due to economic inequality and its correlates and consequences has been a focus for researchers and policy makers alike over many years, with much of that research focusing on race as the major determinant of inequality. In this paper we extend this literature by focussing on emissions from the oil refinery industry at the community level. In particular, based on the use of panel data, we analyse econometrically how the environmental performance of individual petroleum refineries (emissions of benzene and toluene to the atmosphere) associates with determinants of economic inequality at the micro-level in terms of average per capita income at the level of United States counties as well as average county-level unemployment rates. The paper finds evidence of environmental injustice as a result of unemployment levels in areas around refineries and, to a slightly lesser extent, as a result of income inequality. It discusses these results in a wider context, referring amongst other things to the role of county-level community characteristics and the potential for private firms to substitute for the intervention of public institutions, if these are lacking. Highlights • The paper presents the findings of a study on the oil refining industry in the US. • The paper considers absolute and relative amounts of emissions of benzene and toluene. • Average per-capita county income is associated negatively with emissions. • Larger US refineries produce lower specific emissions per unit of output. • The paper supports the link between environmental performance and inequality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

More sustainable consumption is urgently called for but emerging very slowly at best. This paper contributes to the empirical foundation for understanding the role of norms in shaping, reinforcing, and changing consumption patterns. Drawing on institutional and social psychological theories and research, we investigate the development in normative influences on red meat consumption – a climate relevant behavior – over time. We apply cross lagged SEM analyses utilizing survey data from a representative sample of the Norwegian population the years 2019, 2020, and 2021. Red meat consumption is strongly supported by social norms in Norway but seems to be challenged by the societal attention to its negative climate impacts. Such attention may lead people to internalize norms for a climate-friendly diet and thus reduce their red-meat consumption. We find, however, that the influence of pro-climate mitigation norms on red meat consumption is weak and was further weakened in the 2020–21 period, during the Covid19 pandemic. An important question is whether and how policy measures can nurture pro-climate mitigation norms to reach a social "tipping point" regarding meat consumption. Implications for future research on norm dynamics are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Employing various panel data analyses including threshold panel model, this paper has examined how economic status determines the relationship among democracy, macroeconomic variables and happiness. Considering panel data of 83 countries over the time period from 2010 to 2016, this study tries to establish that, factors determining subjective well-being (SWB) or life satisfaction has different effects differently for low and high income countries. This study has found that though per capita GDP has no direct impact on happiness, it establishes the role of other variables in determining happiness. It has been found that countries with higher level of income democratic quality and inflation have significant impact on happiness. The impact of democratic quality is positive whereas the impact is negative in case of inflation. Moreover, inequality and health expenditure per capita by the government respectively have negative and positive impact in case of low income countries. It is also evident that unemployment has a strict negative impact across all type of countries but the magnitude is higher in low income countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The circular economy (CE) is regarded as a new concept to promote sustainable development issues by improving economic, environmental and social goals. Essentially, the key idea of the CE is to assist modern economies to shift from linear economic thinking to a circular one in order to ensure that components of products could have a second use in new products and services. The majority of the relevant literature has focused on the relationship between CE principles and firms. However, to achieve CE principles, data and information from the macro level is also required; something which is currently under examined by the literature. Consequently, a significant gap in this field is the explanation of how the CE affects the macro economy and vice versa. To fill this gap, this paper aims to examine the relationship between a macro-level Circularity Rate and various macroeconomic variables across a sample of 28 European countries employing panel data. The findings suggest a robustly positive relationship between real GDP and the circularity rate over the long-run while higher environmental taxes are associated with an increase in the Circularity Rate. Southern European countries exhibit a significantly lower level of Circularity Rates compared to their northern counterparts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Income distribution and environmental degradation represent two of the most important goals in the SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals). However, the linkage between income inequality and carbon emissions remains controversial. Relying on a large set of cross-country panel data (217 countries from 1960 to the latest), this paper contributes to the literature by using the instrumental variable approach to estimate the causal impact of income inequality on carbon emissions and exploring the underlying transmission mechanisms. Our modelling results indicate that there is a trade-off between income inequality and CO 2 emissions. And the underlying mechanisms include (1) diminishing marginal propensity to emit (DMPE) coupled with the economic law of diminishing marginal propensity to consume (DMPC); (2) high income inequality induces increases in R&D expenditure, leading to reductions in CO 2 emissions; (3) political freedom does not significantly affect the relationship between income inequality and CO 2 emissions. • This paper estimates the impact of income inequality on carbon emissions and exploring the underlying transmission mechanisms, relying on panel data across 217 countries from 1960 to the latest. • Baseline and IV estimation results suggest that there is a trade-off between income inequality and CO 2 emissions. • Political freedom does not significantly affect the relationship between income inequality and CO 2 emissions. • Rising shares of low-income groups lead to higher CO 2 emissions while rising shares of high-income groups contribute to lower CO 2 emissions. • Rising income inequality can decrease energy consumption and increase R&D expenditure, which in turn help to decrease CO 2 emissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the deterioration of China's ecological environment, technological innovation (TI) has become an important method of green transformation and upgrading Chinese steel enterprises (CSEs) under the constraint of environmental regulation (ER). Based on environmental protection panel data of 86 CSEs from 2005 to 2014, this paper first analyzes the direct effects of heterogeneous environmental regulation (HER) on TI and then studies the indirect effects of HER on TI through factors such as enterprise size, human capital, enterprise profit margin and executive environmental awareness. Based on a high-dimensional fixed effects model, the results show that (1) command-control environmental regulation (CCER) and voluntary environmental regulation (VER) have direct and positive effects on the TI of CSEs, while market-incentive environmental regulation (MIER) does not; and (2) the indirect effect of human capital is positively regulated by CCER and VER and that of enterprise size is negatively regulated by MIER, while all of the types of HER regulate the negative indirect effect of profit margin and the positive indirect effect of executive environmental awareness. It is necessary that combined and unified policy tools be implemented in the iron and steel industry (ISI) nationwide to coordinate the effects of HER. • This paper analyzed the dual effect of HER on TI of 86 CSEs with a high-dimensional fixed effects model. • Only CCER had the direct and positive effect on TI, whileMIER did not. • CCER had the indirect effect on TI through human capital, enterprise profits, and executive environmental awareness. • MIER had the indirect effect on TI through enterprise size, enterprise profits, and executive environmental awareness. • The robustness test by SYS-GMM verified the above results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper combines panel data from nationally representative household-level surveys in Nigeria with long-term satellite-based spatial data on temperature and precipitation using geo-referenced information related to households. It aims to quantify the impacts of climate change on agricultural productivity, income shares, crop mix, and input use decisions. We measure climate change in harmful degree days, growing degree days, and changes in precipitation using long-term (30 year) changes in temperature and precipitation anomalies during the crop calendars. We find that, controlling for other factors, a 15% (one standard deviation) increase in change in harmful degree days leads to a decrease in agricultural productivity of 5.22% on average. Similarly, precipitation change has resulted in a significant and negative impact on agricultural productivity. Our results further show that the change in harmful degree days decreases the income share from crops and nonfarm self-employment, while it increases the income share from livestock and wage employment. Examining possible transmission channels for this effect, we find that farmers change their crop mix and input use to respond to climate changes, for instance reducing fertilizer use and seed purchases as a response to increases in extreme heat. Based on our findings, we suggest policy interventions that incentivize adoption of climate-resilient agriculture, such as small-scale irrigation and livelihood diversification. We also propose targeted pro-poor interventions, such as low-cost financing options for improving smallholders' access to climate-proof agricultural inputs and technologies, and policy measures to reduce the inequality of access to livelihood capital such as land and other productive assets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite a growing number of studies on the effects of tropical cyclones on economic growth, not much is known about their effects on income inequality. This paper addresses this question by using a panel data set of U.S. counties affected during the period 2010–2019. It exploits geophysical information to construct the disaster intensity predictor, and shows that storm shocks significantly decrease local income inequality levels in the year that they occur. A close study of the composition effects reveals several interesting patterns. First, the immediate impact is driven by the two lowest quintiles and the top quintile of the income distribution. Second, the beneficial effects on income inequality are stabilised in the short-run and the frequency of events is a crucial parameter to consider as repeatedly exposed counties exhibit larger responses after a cyclone strike than their rarely exposed counterparts. Finally, among others, this study stresses the importance of social safety nets in counteracting tropical cyclones' adverse income distributional effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzed the competitiveness of premium and regular Fair Trade and Organic (FTO) coffees relative to conventional coffee using consumer panel data. The coffees were categorized into four groups based on their certification labels and prices: Premium or Regular Conventional, and Premium or Regular FTO. Competitiveness was measured in terms of price sensitivity and substitution behavior in the entire market and in segments of core consumers who spent most of their coffee budgets on FTO coffees. We found that most consumers were more likely to substitute both FTO products for conventional products, and less likely to substitute out of conventional products. Even the core consumers of Premium FTO coffees, who had inelastic demand for that type of coffee, were more likely to switch to Regular Conventional coffees than to Regular FTO coffees, even though both alternatives were similarly low-priced. The results suggest that even core FTO market segments were not strongly committed to certified products. Companies making and selling certified products need to do more beyond matching prices and using sustainability certification labels to increase their market competitiveness and potential options are discussed in this paper. • Demand for Fair Trade and organic (FTO) coffee analyzed with retail purchase data. • FTO and conventional coffee were assessed by premium and regular price brackets. • Demand for both kinds of FTO coffees was more elastic than conventional counterparts. • FTO coffees were not prime substitutes to each other even amongst core FTO consumers. • Matching prices of certified coffees to conventional coffees did not improve demand. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides an empirical investigation on the effects that regional economic structures exert on the socioeconomic determinants of material productivity. To this aim, first we develop a taxonomy of economic structures for more than 280 European regions that are classified in four overarching groups: agriculture-, industry-, intermediate- and service-based economies. Second, we perform a panel analysis to explore the impact of economic structures on the relationship between socioeconomic drivers and material productivity, during the period 2006–2015. Our results validate the basic hypothesis of the paper, i.e. the structural relationship between material productivity and its driving factors varies according to the underlying economic structures of the regions. In particular, we found that: (1) an increase in affluence leads to greater material productivity gains in material-intensive regions rather than in areas with service-oriented economies; (2) the degree of urban agglomeration seems to be the most important driver for material productivity, and its leverage effect is bigger among already densely populated regions. Our findings suggest that the influence of socioeconomic factors on material productivity behaves differently according to the idiosyncratic features that regions exhibit. Such diversity translates into different needs and opportunities that local policies should address by adopting a place-based perspective. • Economic structures affect the relationship between material productivity and socioeconomic factors. • Affluence produce higher material productivity returns across material-intensive areas. • Population density produce greater returns in material productivity across tertiary-based economies. • Location quotients provide superior information for the approximation of economic structures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we present arguments and empirical evidence that highlights one key aspect of the study of the relationship between environmental proactivity and economic performance in firms: The effect of complementarities with other innovation-related resources. According to the literature, environmental proactivity—defined as the tendency to go beyond compliance with basic requirements established by law or institutionalized adoption of environmental practices in industry—enables firms to improve both economic and environmental outcomes. Within the framework of the resource-based view and the dynamic capabilities approach, we find that this win-win situation is far more likely when environmental proactivity is adopted in conjunction with a proactive innovation strategy. By analyzing panel data with 336 observations (42 Spanish industrial firms over an eight-year period), we demonstrate that environmental proactivity generates complementarities with technological proactivity that are sustainable and especially profitable in dynamic environments. More precisely, empirical evidence reveals that complementarities between environmental and technological proactivity are sustainable in groups of firms subject to high external pressure (such as that generated in the European Union Emissions Trading System context). Complementarities are also greater for companies during a financial crisis, a period characterized by high uncertainty and dynamism of the environment. This particularly advantageous win-win situation generated by environmental proactivity justifies its interpretation as a dynamic capability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigate if Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certified Norway lobster fishing vessels in Sweden got higher prices and sold larger quantities after certification was introduced in 2015. Using detailed daily panel data and exploiting the fact that the same fishing water contains both certified and non-certified vessels, we use a difference-in-difference model for analysing demand effects of MSC-certification. We find a price premium the first months after the launch of the certification scheme for the initial adopters. However, this price premium dissipates over time and is mainly found for trawler vessels. For trawlers, we also find a negative effect on sold quantities the first months after certification but a positive effect a few years after certification. Creelers, on the other hand, got a positive effect on quantities sold both immediately after certification and after a few years. No general effect of MSC certification is found on neither prices nor quantities when the entire period January 2012 – January 2018 is investigated. • The paper investigates effects of Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certification. • Effects on ex-vessel prices and quantities sold of Nephrops in Sweden are analysed. • Results show no general effect on prices or quantities of MSC certification. • Short-term and long-term effects differ. • Price increases in the short term for trawlers but not for creelers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the macro-economic drivers of accumulation and recycling of material capital from in-use Stock of a class of durable goods: Electrical and Electronic Equipment. This category is relevant for the European policy's objectives for its content of critical raw materials and its relevance in the Digital Agenda. A theoretical model and empirical estimations over a EU27 + UK national panel are developed to understand the optimal dynamic of accumulation, innovation, and recycling. The former is growth models supporting a theory of stock accumulation and stock diversity. This framework is used to delineate possible biases of the empirical analysis, which is made throughout a panel data model estimation. The panel uses weight per capita and Shannon concentration index as target variables to address the Environmental Kuznets Curve. Dummies proxied the Waste Packages of 2008 and 2012 to control for breaks. The results show the high significance of the panel data model within each Stratum of EU states. Waste policies are strongly correlated to increasing EEE material accumulation rather than a reduction ceteris paribus. Socio-economic variables are generally significant, with evidence of economic activity decoupling EEE stock. Lastly, the increase in average durability is positively correlated to material accumulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Do perceptions about the state of the environment impact on individuals' well-being and do they lead to environmental activism? While the impact of objective features of the environment (e.g., pollution, parks) is well-researched, the present paper fills a research gap by analyzing how concerns about the environment impact on subjective well-being. Based on German panel data (SOEP) for the years 1984–2012, we show that egoistic concerns have a negative impact on subjective well-being while altruistic concerns are positively associated with well-being, an effect likely driven by omitting variables for environmental activism such as volunteer work. We show that environmental concerns also lead to an increased propensity to volunteer and such volunteering is positively associated with well-being, but only for those who are very concerned about the environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ugandan territory is a challenging environment for agriculture due to extreme climate events. These are likely to harm the development of rural communities. Crop diversification and off-farm activities are considered potential adaptation strategies to reduce the impacts of climate risk. This paper explores three main issues. The first one is the frequency and the intensity of climate shocks that push households to diversify their portfolio of livelihood options. The second one is about the market and the institutional factors that enhance the context where farmers can effectively diversify against adverse climate events. The last issue concerns the mix of crop and income diversification that minimises the welfare variability and the downside risk. To address these points, the study exploits four rounds of the Ugandan National Panel Survey and the SPEI climatic index to estimate a panel multinomial endogenous switching model. Results demonstrate that farmers' diversification response to the climate shocks is not linear. Moreover, the empirical analysis shows that a medium crop diversification maximises mean welfare, while a mix of high crop and income diversification generates the largest impact on the downside risk reduction. Social and human capital are crucial to improve the chance of an effective diversification-based adaptation. • Diversification of crop species and off-farm income sources can help rural farmers mitigating adverse climatic events. • A Panel multinomial endogenous switching model is estimated with socioeconomic and climate shocks data in Uganda. • Farmers diversify if with high frequencies of past shocks in the mid--run, while they prefer specialisation in the shortrun. • Medium diversification improves the average welfare; high diversification insures against risk and extreme welfare losses. • Social capital is crucial to enhance the effectiveness of diversification strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although green growth has become the economic development strategy of many countries in the world, and studies have analyzed the influencing factors of green growth from multiple angles, there are few literatures devoted to the impact of fintech and green finance on green growth. From the perspective of fintech development, this paper tries to construct a comprehensive index to evaluate the green growth of regional economy based on the in-depth analysis of the influence mechanism of green finance on green growth. At the same time, China's provincial panel data from 2011 to 2018 are selected to test the impact of fintech innovation and green finance on green growth, and its mechanism. It turns out that fintech and green finance significantly promotes green economic growth. At the same time, the impact of fintech and green finance on green growth has obvious regional heterogeneity, that is, the impact in eastern China is significantly stronger than that in central and western China. Further research shows that fintech innovation mainly promotes green economic growth through green credit and green investment. Therefore, fintech innovation can promote green economic growth by improving the development level of green finance, which has great reference significance for most countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Predictions of future land use areas are an important issue as land use patterns significantly impact environmental conditions (biodiversity, water pollution, soil erosion, and climate change) as well as economic and social welfare. In order to improve the prediction accuracy of aggregated land use share models, we propose in this paper a methodological contribution by controlling for both unobserved individual heterogeneity and spatial autocorrelation. Our model is a land use shares model applied to aggregated data in France. Our dataset is a panel which covers both time series observations from 1992 to 2003 and cross-sectional observations by Département (equivalent to NUTS3 regions). We consider four land use classes: (1) agriculture, (2) forest, (3) urban and (4) other use. We investigate the relation between the areas in land in different alternative uses and economic and demographic factors influencing land use decisions. Based on the comparison of prediction accuracy of different model specifications, our findings are threefold: First, controlling for both unobserved individual heterogeneity and spatial autocorrelation outperforms any other specification in which spatial autocorrelation and/or individual heterogeneity are ignored. Second, accounting for cross-equation correlations does not seem to improve the prediction performances and finally, ignoring individual heterogeneity introduces substantial loss in prediction accuracy. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper analyzes the economic, political and environmental factors that contribute to the consumption and under- or over-use of pesticides. Using unbalanced panel data analysis, we study how pesticide over- or under-use varies for countries with different per capita Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and foreign direct investment (FDI) stock. We begin by controlling for climatic and agricultural variables that should lead to variation in pesticide application rates. The residual from the regression provides an indication of a nation's deviation in pesticide use relative to the mean. The more negative the residual, the more likely it is that that nation is under-using pesticides. The more positive it is, the more likely it is that pesticides are being over-used. We study the correlation of this residual with important economic and political variables. We find that at low levels of per capita GDP, there is evidence of pesticide under-use and that at the highest income levels, there may be increasing over-use. We also look at the correlation of pesticide use with foreign direct investment stock, farm size, mechanization and democracy and, in most cases find significant correlation with these variables. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This paper examines the causal relationship between CO2 emissions, nuclear energy consumption, renewable energy consumption, and economic growth for a group of 19 developed and developing countries for the period 1984–2007 using a panel error correction model. The long-run estimates indicate that there is a statistically significant negative association between nuclear energy consumption and emissions, but a statistically significant positive relationship between emissions and renewable energy consumption. The results from the panel Granger causality tests suggest that in the short-run nuclear energy consumption plays an important role in reducing CO2 emissions whereas renewable energy consumption does not contribute to reductions in emissions. This may be due to the lack of adequate storage technology to overcome intermittent supply problems as a result electricity producers have to rely on emission generating energy sources to meet peak load demand. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Conventional farming and climate change are placing considerable stress on agricultural systems around the world, leading to increased hunger, malnutrition and food insecurity, particularly in developing countries. Sustainable Agricultural Practices (SAPs) can help raise productivity and agricultural incomes while minimising negative environmental impacts. While recognising that sustainability is a contested term, we identify agricultural practices that are generally viewed as sustainable as they minimise impacts on the environment. Despite the benefits of SAPs, adoption rates are still low in developing countries. While previous studies have examined the factors affecting SAP adoption, most have not accounted for issues of heterogeneity and endogeneity inherent in such analysis. In this paper, we address this by employing a random-effects probit model with the Mundlak approach and fixed-effects linear probability models to control for farmer- and plot-level heterogeneities and to avoid the incidental parameters problem. We analyse panel data from Vietnam for approximately 14,000 plots over the period 2008–2016 to identify the factors behind SAP adoption. Overall, we find that improved knowledge transferred by extension agents and learning from peers significantly influence adoption. Farmers' knowledge of their land and soil quality are also important factors. We recommend enhancing cooperation between extension agents, farmer groups and peers in order to encourage SAP adoption. • Adoption rates of Sustainable Agricultural Practices in Vietnam are relatively low. • Improved knowledge and learning from agents and peers influence adoption. • Farmers' knowledge of their land and soil quality are also important factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper studies the impact of Internet use on life satisfaction, and the channel through which this impact occurs by using data from the 2016 China Family Panel Studies. Employing seemingly unrelated regression to estimate mediation models, we find that in China, Internet use makes people significantly less satisfied with the environmental quality and their living conditions; meanwhile, the dissatisfaction in environmental quality caused by Internet use plausibly mediates the negative effect of Internet use on life satisfaction. Heterogeneity analyses confirm significant differences with regard to the urban-rural division, gender and relative income. Furthermore, the more important the Internet is for an individual's information acquisition, the less satisfied he or she feels with environmental quality and living conditions. The findings shed light on several policy-relevant issues, e.g., the relationship between Internet use and environmental activism. • Internet use significantly reduces Chinese residents' satisfaction with the environmental quality. • Internet use significantly reduces Chinese residents' satisfaction their living conditions. • Internet use can influence life satisfaction by affecting environmental quality perception. • The impact of Internet use on life satisfaction has urban-rural, gender and relative income differences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]